


Bye Bye Baby

by Annie_Is_A_Contranym



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, sad ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 14:35:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie_Is_A_Contranym/pseuds/Annie_Is_A_Contranym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean asks Cas to leave the bunker (tiny ficlet written for my tumblr AnnieNMilton)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bye Bye Baby

 

“Cas, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave the bunker.”

The spoon paused just as it touched his lips and he swallowed down nothing before returning it to the bowl. Or maybe he’d swallowed apprehension. Sitting at the table, Castiel stared at the bowl. It was chicken soup and it tasted like a little piece of heaven restored to him, especially coupled with the hot shower he’d just finished. He’d been enjoying it. Now it felt unsettled in his stomach.

He didn’t lift his eyes to his companion.

“Leave, Dean?”

It was possible that he misunderstood the words. He was finding that as a human he misunderstood even more than he did when he was in possession of his grace.

Dean’s voice was steady, like he’d thought about this; rehearsed it even.

“Yeah, I’m sorry buddy but with you having a bullseye instead of a pair of wings on your back, it’s too risky for you to be here. Too many angels are after you and what with Sam still recovering, the King of Hell in the basement and Kevin on the edge of a breakdown; I don’t want to put this place at risk of being discovered.”  

He was still holding the spoon and he swirled it around in the soup as he tried to make sense of the words and formulate a suitable…any…response.

“You told me to come here Dean.” His was not as steady as Dean’s and he hated that he, Castiel, Angel and Warrior of Heaven, had a tiny hitch in his voice as he spoke. “You demanded I return.”

Soup patterns had never looked so interesting but peripherally he could still see Dean scrub a hand over his face and through his hair. Dean was standing, pacing, just to the side of him.

“I know Cas,” he said. “It’s just I’ve had some time to assess things now, see it a little more clearly and you being here is a huge risk.  You know I’d die for you man…”

“And now you’d like me to die for you.” Cas got up suddenly, the spoon clattering against the edge of the bowl, the chair he was sitting on falling over as he pushed away from the table. He looked at Dean now and it was Dean’s turn to not meet his eyes. Dean cast his gaze downwards.

“Cas…” Dean began, still not looking at his friend.

“It’s because I no longer have “Angel mojo” as you call it, isn’t it?” Cas interrupted.

“What? No!” Dean at least looked genuinely offended by that. “I just need you to lay low for a bit to keep Sam and Kevin safe. That’s all it is Cas, I swear.”

 Cas felt numb. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Dean, but on some level, he didn’t believe Dean.  He dragged a finger along the table top. His head tilted, he looked hard at Dean trying to read him. Dean however continued to evade his eyes.

“I stayed away from you once before Dean. In Purgatory when the monsters all monsters fear, the Leviathans, were after me. I stayed away to protect you. But you tracked me down…”

Damn that hitch in his voice!

“You found me and refused to leave me. _We ganked those bitches once before, we can do it again_ you said. The bullseye on my back didn’t matter then. Of course I also had my wings on my back at that time as well.”

Dean looked at him then and Castiel could see the wetness in his eyes. A thought occurred to him.

“Dean, where is Ezekiel?”

Damn.

Dean not only averted his eyes once more, he physically turned around, presenting his back to Castiel. Castiel could see the roll of his shoulders and the gentle cracking of his neck before Dean turned back to face him, stone-faced once more.

“I aint going to be talking about Zeke, Cas. This has nothing to do with him.”

“Zeke?”

Suddenly it made sense to Castiel and his heart broke. He’d been replaced. Dean did not need or want him around because he was a liability and Dean had a new angel friend; A wingless one perhaps but certainly one still in possession of his grace.

Castiel picked up the bowl and spoon and headed toward the kitchen. In the doorway, he turned back to Dean.

“Thank you, Dean, for your hospitality. The short term use of the bed, the hot shower and the meal are greatly appreciated. I will wash out the bowl and be on my way.”

He headed into the kitchen before Dean could respond. When he came back out, Dean was still there, holding some cash and a cellphone.

“These are for you… some cash to tie you over and a cellphone so I can reach you when things settle down a bit,” he said, holding them out to Cas who had stopped in the doorway once more.

Castiel shook his head. “Thank you but I do not require further assistance from you Dean. I may be without wings and grace but I am not without wit and guile. It’s time for me to discover what my humanity is capable of. Goodbye Dean”

Though he looked like he was physically in pain, Dean did not stop Castiel.  There was silence and then the sounds of the cellphone smashing against the wall. The money floated silently to the floor.

Outside, Castiel tucked his hands into the pockets of the blue hoodie and glanced skyward, face lifted to the cool October air and began to walk away.


End file.
